The New NLDP & CDCLP Cohorts

The recently launched NLDP Cohort XVII and CDCLP Cohort IV are underway. Currently having spent one or two sessions together, each of the two cohorts are starting to bond in a way that will ensure lifelong support while beginning to explore the aspects of their own leadership.

NLDP selected 23 participants out of 66 total applications, and CDCLP selected 22 participants out of 37 total applications. The participants hail from Cleveland's neighborhoods and inner-ring suburbs and span multiple generations of leaders. For NLDP, community leaders are currently engaged in the community either through grassroots projects or nonprofit work. At CDCLP, participants hail from the Community Development Corporation (CDC) sector here in Cleveland.

Do you want to learn more about our programs?

• View our session topics on our websites: NLDP Cohort XVII | CDCLP Cohort IV
• Watch NLDP's Graduate Grant Program video to learn about four graduates who have received Graduate Grant funding from NLDP.
• Watch CDCLP's Building Better Neighborhoods video to meet a few graduates from our first-ever CDCLP cohort.

NLDP Graduate Spotlight: Mary Kauffman

Mary Kauffman graduated from NLDP back in Cohort VIII, but she is still disrupting the community to this day. Currently, Mary is working hard with TechBOOM getting ready to launch SilverLINK on October 1st. SilverLINK is a technology that helps connect seniors living in senior living facilities to overcome the loneliness that can often accompany individuals in situations like theirs. Mary mentions that it has been fun watching seniors learn, design and build out this program with her. Her project has grown tremendously since her time in NLDP, launching trial programs and trying new approaches to keep people connected through technology while they learn new skills.

Funding through the NLDP Graduate Grant Program has also helped establish the TechBOOM infrastructure that has allowed her to move forward with new projects like SilverLINK, iConnect, Epistory typing training, and AI experiences. Since NLDP, Mary has transformed as a leader by making deeper connections in her community and continuing to learn from experienced leaders.

“Connecting out” and being social is also a form of self-care for Mary that gets her out of her own head and never-ending thoughts. Overall, she is grateful for NLDP for “really enhancing leadership and getting you into a space that you might not feel comfortable in."

CDCLP Graduate Spotlight: Bridget Kent Marquez

Bridget Kent Marquez is the Executive Director of Northwest Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation (NWN CDC), a CDCLP Cohort II graduate and a current CDCLP Program Coach. Serving the neighborhoods of Cudell, Edgewater and Detroit Shoreway, NWN CDC’s mission is to “equitably foster diverse, vibrant neighborhoods that are physically and socially connected, where anyone can thrive.” Bridget’s frequent contact with CDCLP allows her to further strengthen her leadership and hone in on skills and relationships that provide much-needed support for this level of community work.

At NWN CDC, Bridget's team is excited to see their affordable housing work come to fruition with the Karam Senior Living project, set to start construction in 2025 on the Cleveland Public Library Walz Campus. Another hopeful project at the CDC is the Eviction Diversion Initiative in partnership with Cleveland Housing Solutions. Since its launch in January, it has helped more than 50 Northwest Neighborhoods tenants avoid eviction, 100% of those who were involved in the program.

Aside from all the amazing work that Bridget and her team are doing, Bridget also mentions the importance of taking time away from the office to focus on personal development (through programs like CDCLP) and to intentionally spend time with family, including her two kids. 

Read Our Annual Reports

Each year, NLDP and CDCLP release Annual Reports detailing the most recent cohorts and the impact our participants and graduates have in Cleveland's neighborhoods. Some highlights from this year's Annual Reports include:

• CDCLP's Cohort III had the highest session attendance rate at 99%. C-III represented 67% of Cleveland's CDCs.
• NLDP's Graduate Grant Program has funded graduate-led projects in 76% of Cleveland's neighborhoods since 2013.
• 72% of CDCLP graduates at that time attended the first-ever Graduate Support Session, made up of two parts: Leading with a Trauma-Informed Lens & Navigating the Political Waters in Cleveland.
• There are now 310 total NLDP graduates covering 100% of Cleveland's neighborhoods, with a large number serving Cleveland at-large.

If you want to feel inspired, read our Annual Reports to learn how the leaders who go through our programs are impacting Cleveland!

Click to read: NLDP's Annual Report | CDCLP's Annual Report

NLDP Unites Against Gun Violence

On a Saturday in August, NLDP gathered graduates around the topic of combatting the gun violence epidemic in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. Our graduates, entrenched in the communities and neighborhoods of Cleveland, experienced a unique session where they learned, connected and collaborated – together. 

Panelists joined us from local organizations and activism efforts addressing gun violence. Our graduates worked together to design strategies to combat gun violence along four core threads: gun policy, impact to youth, police and community relations, and grief and trauma. 

• Above you will find a word cloud created in-session by NLDP graduates who were given the prompt: "Share one word about how you're feeling after today's session."
• Below you will find two sets of responses that display the experiences some of our graduates who were in the room have had with gun violence (note: these charts do not represent those who have had more than one experience with gun violence, of which there are many).

Welcoming Our New CDCLP Coach, Merle Gordon

CDCLP has onboarded a new Program Coach! Merle is an award-winning professional with a long-standing career dedicated to the advancement of health policy across diverse communities. Her experience includes roles in government, non-profit, public and private sectors. Merle’s career includes managing the Cuyahoga County Healthcare Sector Partnership (Fund for Our Economic Future), a collective designed to address the labor shortages in the healthcare industry; serving as the City of Cleveland’s Health Department Director where she led and secured department accreditation and served as Covid-19 Response Incident Commander as well as the Executive for Population Health in the Mayor’s Office. Merle was elected and served two terms on Cleveland City Council where she chaired the Public Health Committee and the Community & Economic Development Committee and she currently has a boutique consulting firm, The Wilbert Group LLC, focused on strategy development & implementation and organizational infrastructure.

Welcome to the CDCLP family, Merle!

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A big thank you to Signal Cleveland for their help in our recruitment efforts this year for NLDP's Cohort XVII and CDCLP's Cohort IV!